INFORMED CONSENT: The True Path For Transgender Treatment

Informed Consent, what a concept!

The AMA begins its definition of informed consent as:

Informed consent is more than simply getting a patient to sign a written consent form.
It is a process of communication between a patient and physician that results in the patent's authorization or agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention.

This Campus Progress article suggests instead of the clinical gate-keeping method of admitting a person is a transsexual, which the APA now uses, we simply use informed consent to begin the process of transition.

Informed consent verse pathologization.

PATHOLOGIZE: to view or characterize as medically or psychologically abnormal.

One interview to obtain informed consent to begin transition as opposed to the unbearably long and quite often frustratingly unyielding process of vetting unknowledgeable therapists who never had a clue about transsexualism or any inclination to recommend hormone replacement in the first place. Gone would be the fallacy being forced to live a 'real life test' separates the pretenders. At that early state of transition we are at our most vulnerable. That concept is one which is long over due to be trashed!

The truth is, most transsexuals have successfully transitioned in spite of the DSM, not because of it!

That is why transgender people and those who truly care for our mental and physical well being are no longer using the DSM Regardless of Proposed Revisions as the standard of care. We have by default been using informed consent for years without naming the process!

Now we have a name and you can join with 5000 on facebook and sign our petition to the DSM to remove transgender from the DSM.

Become informed on the ICATH home page and on Facebook.

Federal Government Announces New Grants Available For Transgender Research

A watershed moment for transgender medical research is upon us. It is imparitive the research is conducted by people with our best interests in mind and people other than those who believe reparative therapy is the end all answer to transsexualism.

The Federal government has realized the medical system has failed the LGBT population in general, and for this post transgender people in particular.

From the Grant information Part 1. Overview Information

Recent data from national health surveys and targeted studies suggest that prevalence rates for some health conditions are higher among LGBTI populations than for the general population. There is evidence that LGBTI individuals delay health care treatment because they fear stigmatization or because their experiences have led them to believe that many health care providers lack knowledge and experience working with LGBTI individuals. There is also evidence that LGBTI individuals receive health care services that are not as appropriate and effective as those provided to non-LGBTI individuals. This FOA calls for research that will enrich scientific understanding of how sexual orientation and gender identity influence health, perceptions and expectations about health, health behaviors, and barriers and access to health-related services. This FOA also calls for research on how the household and family structures and processes of LGBTI individuals influence the health, development, and well-being of children born and/or raised in these households and families. This knowledge will also guide new directions for studies of the health of both LGBTI and non-LGBTI populations.

Biological and Clinical Factors

Research with transgender people, including transsexual people who intend to seek, have sought, or have received hormonal or surgical interventions and the health effects of such interventions.

Studies of the acoustic factors that contribute to perception of femininity and masculinity and of other non-voice factors (such as articulation, prosody and body language) that interact to create the perception of femininity or masculinity and the effects on the health of individuals.

Studies of the health and developmental effects of early gender assignment in cases of infants born with ambiguous genitalia.

Developmental and longitudinal studies on the health of gender-related and other biological and behavioral characteristics of intersex people, including follow-up studies of persons who have received hormonal or surgical interventions.

Studies of the development and evaluation of approaches to psychosocial assessment and counseling for intersex people and their families.

Studies of competency and training needs among clinicians, employers, and other service providers who work with LGBTI people.

Research to develop and evaluate training and knowledge dissemination programs for clinicians and health service providers on LGBTI-related topics.

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This is just a small snapshot of this exciting opportunity for our health care allies. We can shape the future now!

For more information please read the oii Australia article "Intersex and LGBTI are now starting to appear in federal US health websites and grants programs"